Eric Jager’s position as a professor of medieval literature at
UCLA doesn’t typically put him in the media spotlight.

But that has changed with the publication of his third book, The
Last Duel.

The 1979 Calvin graduate’s nonfiction historical tale of the last
judicially sanctioned duel in France has caught the attention of National
Public Radio and BBC Television.

“The book’s kind of like Gladiator meets The Return of Martin
Guerre,” said Jager, talking about the volume over lunch at the
UCLA Faculty Center.

Jager was reading up on the Hundred Years’ War in preparation for
a course he was teaching on Chaucer when he came across the compelling
story of Jean de Carrouges, a 14th-century knight who comes home from
battle to learn that his wife, Marguerite, has charged an old friend and
fellow warrior, Jacques Le Gris, with raping her.

The knight champions his wife’s cause all the way to King Charles
VI, the teenage monarch of France, who surprises the court by ordering
a duel in order to determine guilt and innocence — a battle to the
death. And if Carrouges should lose, his wife (now pregnant, with the
child’s paternity in question), would be put to death as well.

The high drama of this tale immediately drew Jager to investigate the
story further.

“In reading various accounts of the story, it appeared to me that
the woman was getting a bum rap,” said Jager. “After reading
the trial record and finding some new, unpublished source materials I
thought I could present a more accurate and balanced picture.”

Subtitled “A True Story of Crime, Scandal and Trial by Combat
in Medieval France,” The Last Duel is a fast-moving narrative, but
thoroughly researched. It carries the reader along with carefully crafted
storytelling and interesting historical information, leading up to the
climactic duel of the book’s title — a contest with absolutely
everything at stake.

“It is a bit unusual to have a book written by a professor about
a 14th century trial draw the interest of multiple publishers, but that’s
what happened in this case,” Jager said.

In fact, about a dozen publishers showed interest, and after publication,
BBC Television asked for the rights to film a one-hour documentary based
on the book.

“I was pleased with the BBC’s interest because the organization
is intellectually responsible, and I wanted the story told right the first
time,” he said.

The BBC version of The Last Duel is due to air sometime during the next
year.

Prior to his tenure at UCLA, Jager taught at Columbia and the University
of Michigan (where he earned his Ph.D.). But Calvin ranks right along
with them all in his estimation.

“I had four wonderful years at Calvin,” recalled Jager.
“I learned much from [English professors] Ed Ericson and Dick Tiemersma,
and religion courses from Len Sweetman and Gord Spykman help when I teach
about the Bible in my courses.”

This book contains 37 psalms from the canonical book of Psalms and several
psalmic passages from elsewhere in scripture — all translated by
Calvin Seerveld from the original Hebrew and Greek languages into idiomatic
American English.

Seerveld sets the biblical psalms in historical context, highlights
the rough and tender tenor of God’s psalms and offers concrete suggestions
for helping these psalms come alive in our private and public worship
today. More >>

The diverse stories of 18 San Joaquin Valley children are brought together
in this picture book. The pictures and words together tell the stories
of children who are learning unique cultural traditions.

Children from countries such as Japan, Germany, China, Mexico, Laos,
Lebanon and Greece share their history and culture. Lazo hopes that the
book will appeal to people of all ages — and to anyone who is interested
in celebrating multiculturalism and God’s diverse creation.

In this book the authors provide insights into the process of how worship
services are planned and led. Their approach to worship arises from the
biblical narrative, using the language of the Christian tradition and
emphasizing that worship tells the story of God’s efforts through
history to show us the path to union with God.

This is a practical book for worship planners, offering best practices,
clarifying the role of vital worship in a healthy congregation and suggesting
a variety of models for worship planning and evaluation. More >>